Many Schools No Longer Single Out a Valedictorian

As the season of high school graduations begins, some parents will notice a missing element in the ceremonies: the naming of a valedictorian.

More schools across the nation are shifting from the practice of honoring the one student with the highest grades and are embracing myriad new ways to recognize student achievement.

Although most schools still look to the students with the highest grade-point average for their class valedictorian and salutatorian, many have developed alternatives that range from honoring all students who graduate with a 4.0 or higher to elaborate contests in which seniors compete for top honors.

For years, educators have noticed a skewing in the grade point average system, caused by the practice in most schools of giving an extra point for honors and Advanced Placement classes. In other words, an A grade in such a class means a 5.0 instead of a 4.0.

Under that system, if two straight-A students took the same number of honors and Advanced Placement classes, their averages would be the same. But if one student took an additional elective--such as a team sport or a music class, or the first year of a new language, which is worth only 4 points--then that student would have a lower average. The result, educators say, is that the traditional definition of merit has been blurred.

The challenge, then, is finding a way to recognize the students who perform the best without encouraging students to rejigger their schedules for the sake of boosting their averages.

“I’ve seen amazing contortions that kids go through to be the valedictorian,” Irvine High School Principal Gail Richards said. “The kids that win sometimes end up not being your best, most well-rounded students. It’s an artificial competition for points.”

For just that reason, officials at Irvine High and other schools decided against recognizing just one student. Instead, all students with a certain grade-point average or higher are rewarded equally, graduating with “highest honors.”